Irv Gotti pleaded not guilty and was given a one-year deferred prosecution last week in California’s Alameda County, stemming from an August incident in which he was arrested for possessing ecstasy and Viagra. Under California law, if Gotti stays out of trouble for a year, the arrest will be wiped from his record. …

The first single off the soundtrack to the upcoming Halle Berry flick “Catwoman” will be a remix of the Young Gunz‘s “Grown Man.” The track, which was produced by Kanye West, also features an appearance by John Legend. … Destiny’s Child will reunite in the studio June 1 to begin recording their first album in three years. The LP is scheduled for release in November. …

Pharrell Williams produced the song where Jay-Z coined the phrase “grown and sexy,” and now the Neptunes producer is working on an album that’s tailor-made for adults. Williams has joined the roster of collaborators for Sleepy Brown‘s summer debut, For the Grown and Sexy.Outkast are also featured on the project. … Jay-Z will be among the artists honored at ASCAP’s 17th annual Rhythm and Soul Music Awards on June 28 in Beverly Hills, California. Rick James will also receive a special award. …

As if “Truth or Dare” weren’t enough, Madonna‘s delving back into documentary fare once again, this time with director Jonas Akerlund. The singer has already started shooting for the untitled project, which will chronicle her upcoming tour and the “new” Madonna, among other things. She plans to release the documentary in theaters, her spokesperson said. … Eighties icons Duran Duran have begun to track their new album in London. All five original members are holed up with producer Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Good Charlotte) and hope to have the fruits of their labor out this fall. …

Scott Weiland appeared in a Los Angeles court Tuesday (May 11) to address driving-under-the-influence-of-drugs charges against him, but the case was postponed until June 9. Meanwhile, in a move reminiscent of his bandmates’ former frontman, Axl Rose, the Velvet Revolver singer has once again lashed out on the band’s Web site against a few rock writers, this time from Revolver and Maxim, threatening to give smack-downs to each and “no more interviews” to other reporters. Weiland, who previously took issue with Rolling Stone, took umbrage with Maxim‘s description of his “boozy charm” and retorted, “Unless you were born yesterday, you would know I was a dope fiend, not a boozer.” As for Revolver, Weiland had more choice words, which he posted Sunday, inviting the magazine’s reporter back to his studio to settle things in person. …

Massachusetts metalheads Shadows Fall will follow 2002′s The Art of Balance with The War Within, their fourth album, due in September. The quintet is also working on its first DVD, a tour documentary titled “The Art of Touring: Drunk and Sh—y in Every City.” … Nivek Ogre and Cevin Key are up to their old tricks on the politically biting The Greater Wrong of the Right,Skinny Puppy‘s first album in eight years and 13th overall. Tool‘s Danny Carey and Static-X‘s Wayne Static make guest appearances on the LP, set for release May 25. Skinny Puppy will kick off a monthlong U.S. tour June 11 in Portland, Oregon. …

Neurosis have posted their new song “Burn” at http://neurotrecordings.com. The track will be on the band’s next album, The Eye of Every Storm, which comes out June 29. … A two-disc ZZ Top career retrospective, Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top, and a video compilation, “ZZ Top – Greatest Hits – The Video Collection,” will be released on June 15. …

05.10.2004

The special edition DVD of Disney’s “Aladdin,” due October 5, will feature Clay Aiken singing “Proud of Your Boy,” a ballad written for the 1992 animated classic that was cut from the final movie and soundtrack. The song, written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (who also wrote songs for “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid”), is about a child’s desire to make his mother proud and provides greater insight into Aladdin’s character. … In other “American Idol” news, Kelly Clarkson will perform a solo version of “Beautiful Disaster” on this season’s finale, scheduled for May 26. Aiken will likely also perform, although it is not yet confirmed. …

Outkast‘s Andre 3000 has always been animated on record and stage — and now he’s hoping to be animated on television as well. The Cartoon Network is in talks with Andre to develop a half-hour animated television show as part of its “Adult Swim” program. The cartoon would revolve around one of Andre’s alter-egos from his “Hey Ya! video, Johnny Vulture. … Victoria Beckham is splitting up with her famous partner. Not soccer-star husband David Beckham, but her record producer, Damon Dash. The Roc-A-Fella magnate has ended the hyped-up pop collaboration with the erstwhile Posh Spice and will use the beats with another artist instead, according to a source close to Dash. The pairing was initiated when Dash approached Posh to promote his Roc-A-Wear line in Europe. Two songs the pair created had made their way onto mixtapes, including a collaboration between Beckham and rap group M.O.P. …

Michael Jackson has dropped his appeal of a judgment against him, which would have required him to pay concert promoter Marcel Avram $5.3 million for canceling two New Year’s Eve shows in 2000. Avram originally filed a $21 million suit against the singer, because Jackson allegedly backed out of millennium shows in Sydney, Australia, and Honolulu, Hawaii. Jackson has reportedly settled the matter for $7 million — the original judgment the jury awarded Avram, plus interest — and now won’t have to open up his financial matters in court. … First comes Love, then comes marriages — at least according to the gospel of Courtney Love, who married 20 couples at a Nevada casino on Saturday. As a mail-order minister, Love presided over the ceremonies for radio contest winners, who also had a justice of the peace on hand. The singer arrived an hour and a half late for the proceedings, during which she chain-smoked, sipped beer in a glass and read the vows from a piece of paper she sometimes gave to the couples to read themselves. …

Phil Spector shocked reporters covering a hearing for his upcoming murder trial Friday in Los Angeles when he loudly insulted a district attorney as he left the courtroom, suggesting to his lawyer Leslie Abramson that the prosecutor proved you could reproduce through unconventional means. Abramson responded, “Phil, I get to be nasty, you don’t.” She later told Spector not to speak as she conducted a press conference, but the producer interjected several times, describing his arrest with details: “Broken nose, two black eyes and 50,000 volts shot through me [with a Taser gun] after I invited the police into my home.” Abramson said the limousine driver who told investigators that Spector said, “I think I shot someone,” is a native of Brazil with a limited command of English who was being given immunity from deportation by prosecutors in exchange for his testimony. “He is an illegal alien,” Spector added. No trial date was set. …

Bad Boy Records will host the next bimonthly concert in the Hearts & Voices series benefiting LIFEbeat the Music Industry Fights AIDS and the E.A.R.S. Foundation, a nonprofit providing employment opportunities for urban youth in the music and entertainment industry. Mario Winans, Carl Thomas, Loon and 8Ball and MJG will perform at the May 25 event at the Babalu Theatre in New York, and P. Diddy will appear in a taped message. Roc-A-Fella hosted the March concert with performances by Kanye West, the Young Gunz and others. … Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who was twice named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year (2000, 2003), will appear on the cover of “Madden NFL 2005″ to emphasize the game’s focus on defensive innovations. “Madden NFL 2004,” which featured Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick on its cover, sold more than 5 million copies. …

Blaming a combination of managers, lawyers, record companies and his own waning enthusiasm for the project, Trent Reznor has finally killed off his Tapeworm. The demise of the long-discussed side project, which also featured Maynard James Keenan of Tool and A Perfect Circle, Danny Lohner and Atticus Ross, doesn’t mean that a Reznor/ Keenan collaboration is completely out of the realm of future possibilities, Reznor said. … The Beastie Boys are set to headline San Francisco alternative rock station Live 105′s annual summer concert, the BFD. Also on the bill are the Strokes, the Violent Femmes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, New Found Glory and Yellowcard. The BFD takes place June 11 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. …

A hip-hop remake of the 1973 film “The Harder They Come” is scheduled to begin production this fall. Where the original focused on Ivan Martin, a rural Jamaican musician played by reggae artist Jimmy Cliff, the remake will center on an aspiring performer who attempts to break into the New York rap scene. The original film and Cliff’s performance of its title track helped introduce reggae to mainstream America. … Two sneak peeks at the thrash-metal documentary “Get Thrashed” have been posted on the flick’s official site, www.getthrashed.com. The first features an array of artists weighing in on their favorite thrash albums of all time, while the second finds Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett (formerly of Exodus) discussing Metallica’s influence on the thrash canon. The film is currently being edited and is expected to surface this summer or fall. …

Velvet Revolver played an invite-only show Sunday night at the Roxy in West Hollywood, California. The nearly two-hour set featured material from the band’s upcoming album and covers of songs by the bandmembers’ former outfits. Singer Scott Weiland crooned mightily on “Crackerman” and “Sex Type Thing” by his old band Stone Temple Pilots, and the Revolver blasted through the Guns N’ Roses numbers “Mr. Brownstone,” “Used to Love Her” and “It’s So Easy.” The group closed with a version of Nirvana‘s “Negative Creep.” The band will launch a tour May 13 in St. Louis. … Smile Empty Soul are the latest band caught in the web of the “Spider-Man 2″ soundtrack. The Florida trio join a lineup that includes Train (“Ordinary”) and Dashboard Confessional (“Vindicated”). The “Spider-Man 2″ soundtrack is due out June 22. …

Judas Priest have announced another non-Ozzfest date during the summer festival. The band will play with Slayer and Hatebreed on July 30 in Marysville, California. The three acts will also perform together on July 26 in Nampa, Idaho; August 4 in El Paso, Texas; and August 18 in Toronto. … Both Hatebreed and Brides of Destruction were recently turned away at the Canadian border and had to cancel shows. Hatebreed missed their gig in Vancouver on Saturday because a border patrolwoman wouldn’t allow a vehicle carrying the band’s merchandise guy and stage manager/guitar tech to enter. “The woman threw a fit when one of us answered one of her questions with a head nod,” frontman Jamey Jasta wrote on the band’s Web site. “It’s a shame that people like this get put into positions of power. She told us she could refuse anyone for any reason at all and that it was all at her discretion.” In a separate incident, Brides of Destruction had to reschedule a Toronto show. “We can’t play due to past felonies in our camp,” bassist Nikki Sixx said on the band’s Web site. “The promoter usually has these matters covered and worked out, but he dropped the ball and we’ve been denied entry to Canada.” …